Last to Know
by Tadpole24
Summary: Breaking the news to Winston and Schmidt hadn't exactly gone as they had planned. Ness fluff, a birthday fic for brookemopolitan!


_To my dearest darling B, happy (belated) birthday to you! Only two days late this year, next year will be the one I get it right! Hehe. _

_For all you folks out there, brookemopolitan asked me for a 'telling Winston and Schmidt' fic. So I hope this lives up to expectations despite its short length!_

_Thank you to my gorgeous eitoph and sunnyamazing for having a little looksee over this for me! I'm over on Tumblr (wonder24) and Twitter (tadpole24_) if you ever want to chat :)_

_Disclaimer: They are so not mine :(_

..:::..

Last to Know

..:::..

Breaking the news to Winston and Schmidt hadn't exactly gone as they had planned. There was a whole plan that had gone slightly awry, a bit of a mix up in communications, some might say.

Nick takes a sip of his coffee and glances across the table at Schmidt and Winston who are staring him down. No words have really passed between them in the twenty minutes. It's not something he's proud of, but it's just how it has happened.

He wishes he was back in the bedroom where he'd left a very sated and sleeping Jess. If only his caffeine cravings hadn't have been so strong. If only he didn't sit down to read the paper. He had the chances to run away from the common living areas of the loft and he hadn't taken them.

It couldn't be more awkward out here if they tried.

It's been a few weeks since Cece's almost wedding and the new couple had thought they'd been keeping their changed relationship status under wraps pretty well. It was no secret that they'd been fooling around and strangely, Schmidt and Winston had been okay with that, but this morning it had become quite obvious for the other occupants of the loft that what was going on was no longer just mucking about. It was pretty serious.

And the tension in the loft had become pretty serious after that point as well.

"So, you two are…?" Schmidt doesn't finish his sentence, the look on his face suggesting that he can't begin to fathom the implications of the new relationship.

Nick nods, "Yup."

There's a general sigh around the table.

"And you're…"

He nods again, "We are."

Winston plants his hands on the table, pushing himself out of his seat, "Well I'm going to go this way." He points towards the bathroom, "If you two could keep your funny business away from that vicinity for the next half an hour, I would be appreciative."

Schmidt gives him a look that suggests he's said the right thing and Nick scoffs at them, "Guys, we haven't done anything wrong."

Schmidt's eyes widen at that, "You haven't done anything…?" He splutters for a moment, "We are your best friends, Nicholas!"

"And she's my girlfriend," he argues back, not even sure what the point of this argument is.

"Well I know that now, don't I? How come we are the last to know?" he challenges, arms thrown in the air.

"Know what?" Jess' sleep addled voice greets them as she steps around the corner into the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Schmidt gets up from his seat, throwing a look at the both of them, "And here she is. Jessica Day, the woman behind Nick keeping secrets, the poor soul." He watches her as he steps out of the room, threatening her with his eyes.

Jess stares back, not really sure what to make of the whole situation. Once she and Nick are alone though, she makes her way to the table, sitting next to him, "What was that about?"

He leans over to kiss her gently good morning, "Do you remember what you said to me earlier?"

She raises her eyebrows, smirking at him, "I said a lot of things."

"But you remember the thing you said rather… _loudly_?"

She purses her lips, pulling back to see his face more clearly. Was he mad about _that_? "Yes."

"Well," how was he even meant to explain this? Schmidt and Winston seemed to have their own laws regarding their friends, "The others are a little upset that they didn't know first."

Jess frowns, trying to take that in, "Um, okay…"

"Yeah, I know right." He lets out a half chuckle on a breath, still in disbelief of his friends and what they get offended over.

The couple sip at their coffees for a few minutes longer, listening to the sounds of their roommates getting ready for the day before Jess breaks the silence again, "You know I meant it right?" she asks, tilting her head to the side.

He smiles, "I figured it was pretty genuine."

"Good," she says, tipping her mug towards her again, "Good."

His eyes soften at the unsure way she's trying to keep the conversation going. He hadn't wanted to say it under the same roof as Schmidt and Winston after their reaction earlier that morning, but he can see that she needs it, "Hey," he says, holding out his hand to grasp hers. His eyes glance to the hallway, but no sign of their roommates can be seen.

As alone as they can be, he responds to her morning confession, his voice holding no hesitation, not caring if the world knows and only a little bit caring about how his friends will react, "I love you, too."

..:::..

_Thoughts? :)_


End file.
